Pull That String, I'll Come Undone
by Obsessed01
Summary: “She would be his punching bag if he needed it.” Oneshot. SS A little depressing...


**A/N: Came to me, literally, out of nowhere. It's just a one-shot. Also, my latest story **Just Let Us Be Us Again** probably won't be updated for, like, two weeks. I'm up to my knees in stories and one-shots and I just need some time to sort things out. There's just so much damn inspiration! Now, read on! **

**Wait, don't read on yet. First, I have to give you some background information as to where they are in their relationship and everything. Okay, so it's like mid-senior year and they have broken up for reasons unbeknownst to them. Well, they kind of know; it's basically one of those things where Summer got freaked out about the seriousness of their relationship and broke up with him. But they're trying for the friend thing. Alright, now read on!**

**The song that was used is called **The Martyr **by **Cursive**. Good song. Download it. Listen to it. Love it. **

Summer stood on the porch, ringing her hands, as the chimes of the doorbell reverberated throughout the house. She shifted nervously on her feet, not quite sure what she was going to say. The door opened and Sandy Cohen appeared. She would have wondered how he was doing, but his red-rimmed eyes told her everything she needed to know.

"Hi, Sandy," she said timidly.

"Summer, come on in." He was trying hard to be strong; strong for his boys. Summer could tell. She was a master at faking strength by now.

"I'm really sorry," she said slowly and he nodded, further cementing the little routine they had had going for three days now.

"Seth is upstairs." He swung his head in the direction of the staircase before he walked in the opposite direction, adjusting his suit tie.

Summer thanked him meekly and carried on her way. She took the walk up the staircase and down the hall to his bedroom slowly, thinking about how, just three days ago, her world had been turned upside down in a matter of seconds. The house just didn't feel the same without her. Summer couldn't understand how that was even possible given that everything was just the way she had left it. The colors on the walls, the carpeting, the furniture. None of it had changed. Yet, everything held a different meaning.

She knocked lightly on the wood, and waited for his muffled voice to grant her entrance. Just like the rest of the house before it, his room looked the same but felt completely different. But amidst all this…tragedy, there was still a really crappy CD playing on his stereo. Walking far enough into his room so that her presence could be known, she looked at him. He was sitting on his bed, staring at a blank spot on the wall. He wasn't dressed yet, still just in t-shirt and jeans. He looked at her briefly, but that was the only greeting she received.

_Sweet baby, don't cry...  
Your tears are only alibis  
To prove you still feel --  
You only feel sorry for yourself  
Well, get on that cross  
That's all you're good for... _

That was some of the most depressing music she had ever heard. She stepped closer to the stereo, turning it off. He didn't need that right now.

"I was listening to that." The bitterness in his voice stung and she, once again, doubted whether or not she could do this; whether or not she could be there for him. But the emptiness in his eyes that was masking the grief told her that she couldn't turn her back on him now. She would be his punching bag if he needed it.

"Seth, it's almost time." She spoke quietly, hoping the soft tones in her voice would help to soothe his pain.

She was answered with more silence. She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't going ready to do this yet. Sitting next to him, she placed one of her small hands over his larger one. The surprise was evident on her face when he pulled away from her.

She couldn't watch him do this to himself. She stood up and faced him. "Seth Cohen, Get a grip. Just get a fucking grip. I've sat here for three days and watched you stare at that wall. I'm not doing it anymore."

It was the first time she had spoken unsympathetically to him since it had happened. And for a moment, she saw something flash across his face. Something other than misery and hopelessness. Albeit it was just shock, but it was a start.

"I know it hurts but you can't sit here and do nothing," she said, her voice returning to its normal manner.

When the phone call was received that Kirsten Cohen had been in a severe car accident on her way home from work, Seth was the last person Summer expected to close off. She thought for sure Seth would have fallen to his knees on the spot and bawled his eyes out. But no, Seth hadn't cried once in the past three days. He just sat in his room, staring at nothing.

He hadn't been sleeping well, that was obvious. His skin was sallow and he looked even skinnier than he already was. She had passed Ryan yesterday on the way to Seth's room when he told her Seth wouldn't even eat more than a bite of toast.

Ryan's eyes were red. They were red so Summer hugged him. He had cried. He had cried and Seth hadn't. Summer knew Seth well enough to know that he was dealing with too much pain to cry. And she had sat with him in his room for three fucking days watching him waste away. She wasn't going to do it anymore.

"What the hell do you want me to do, Summer?" Finally, his words had feeling behind them. "She's dead! My mother is dead, and I don't think I can move!"

She felt the familiar prick of tears behind her eyes. "I want you to go downstairs because people are going to be here soon. They want to see you. You can't spend the rest of your life in your room." She took a breath. "You can't bring her back."

"Get out." His voice was beyond harsh and the pricks in her eyes gave way as her eyes filled.

When Summer gave no indication that she was going anywhere, Seth moved from his bed and walked to the door. He grabbed the handle in motion to open the door when she spoke. "Why can't you just let yourself feel?" She was whispering but the way he stopped, the handle in mid-turn, told her he could hear her.

She watched him as he stood there for a minute, before turning around. This time, his eyes were full as he said, "Because Summer, it hurts too much."

Tears fell from her eyes as Seth crossed the room. He slid down into a sitting position, his back to the bed, and his knees pulled up. He stared at nothing, but at least this time, tears glistened in his eyes.

Summer squatted in front of him, pushing his knees down and placing hers on either side of his legs. She cupped his face in her hands but when he wouldn't look up, she commanded him to do so. "Look at me." He obeyed, and Summer almost had to look away because all of a sudden, she was staring pure grief in the face. The pain that was reflected in his eyes was more than Summer had ever seen, almost more than she could handle.

Seth started to say something but stopped. On his face was written what he needed to say, but didn't have the guts to. "Tell me what you're feeling," she told him.

Seth thought, his face twisting in painful remembrance, before he spoke. "God Summer, it hurts. It just hurts," he said as the tears finally leaked from his eyes and started a slow trail down his cheeks. He sounded like a little boy and all Summer wanted to do was to protect him; to make the pain go away. She pulled him to her, his face pressed into her chest and she could feel his tears trickling down her shirt. His body shook as he sobbed, mourning the loss of his mother.

Summer rocked them gently as she whispered, "Don't shut off on me. Don't shut off on me now, baby." His face rested in the fold of her neck for the longest time while they cried.

Finally, he pulled away and looked at her. His eyes were red and swollen and his face was moist with tears. "I just…don't know what to do without her."

Summer wiped at the tears that were still flowing down his face and kissed his hair. "I know," she mumbled into it. "I know." More silence passed before she said, "At least you know she loved you."

She immediately regretted saying that when she noticed the pity in his eyes. This was his time to grieve, not hers. She had no right to bring her abandoning mother into the situation. She didn't think he had room for any more feelings and she certainly didn't want him feeling sorry for her on top of all of this.

He nodded though, and she watched as he concentrated on a spot on the floor. "You can't give up now, okay?"

He nodded again and Summer hugged him close, appreciating the way he hugged her back. She almost had the mind to feel guilty for making him cry, making him stare his pain in the face, but it needed to be done. If he wanted to move on, if he ever wanted to be happy again, he had to acknowledge his feelings.

Pulling away again, she said, "Come on."

This time Seth shook his head. "I'm not dressed."

"Cohen, your mother wouldn't care that you're not wearing a suit. She wants you there, the truest you. And I know you hate suits." She took his hand and kissed his forehead as they stood. She wiped his face, forgetting about her own, as she prepared to greet the people who had come to pay their respects to Kirsten Cohen. "Are you ready?"

He hesitated but nodded his head. "Yeah. My mother would want me there."

"She would." They made their way down the hallway as Summer said, "I'll be by your side the entire time."

Seth knew that she didn't just mean for the entire service. She meant she would be there for as long as he needed her. Even if that was a lifetime.

**I'm honestly not sure if I like the way that came out.It's kind of short,that's okay with me.Let me know what you think! **


End file.
